Nah, it goes beyond the 6'7" Blair > 7'3" Thabeet element. Thabeet has been outplayed or dominated by pretty much every NBA caliber big he's played against this year. Blair, Greg Monroe, Austin Daye are a few off the top of my head. Hell, even Harangody chewed him up. The only NBA prospect I saw Thabeet outplay was Earl Clark, a player that was playing out of position and staying true to the Lamar Odom comparisons he's drawing with a stellar 2-16 performance. That's about it. But I digress. One point I want to make is how I am in total agreement with you on the section I bolded. I have posted on this topic several times and it seems like there's only a few out there like you and I that actually realize we absolutely have to get ourselves some kind of Yao safeguard. I mean, isn't it painfully obvious that we've lost in the playoffs the past two years due to our inability to consistently score in the post once Yao went down? Easier said than done, I realize. All i'm saying is if we're deadset on playing this "vulture" game by picking on teams looking to sell talent low in order to cut salary, I would hope adding a quality starting center caliber player would be a priority.
i know he's not good enough to not commit significant costly AND high turnovers his first year. I know he's not good enough to have a J defenders respect in his first year. These are flaws in his game that he still hasn't worked out in 4 years of pro ball, he's not going to overcome it in one year, against better comp, in a new environment. Yes he may eventually improve all that, i'm not saying he'll never start or he'll never be great, but let's not forget he's still a kid coming into a foreign country, living in a new place, playing in a different league, against different players, different styles...that's enough to worry about right there, but on top of that he's got to work on his previous weaknesses. Foreign players have to deal with psychological adaptations outside of basketball that American players dont. Even Yao had his issues adjusting early one. I dont think any foreigh player has ever came in and fit right in without missing a step. They all get homesick, have doubts, think about going back home, etc. Even American point guards have trouble not defering to their veteran teammates their first year, imagine a foreign point who's even younger than the average rookie, speaks a different language, has cultural differences, and is adjusting to life outside of basketball.
I think we need to snap back to reality folks. While it's fun to speculate, the truth of the matter is, the Rockets just don't have the pieces to make a move for a draft pick. Sure, TMac's expiring is nice, but many teams shied away because of his injury. 4 months later, I don't see how teams change their mind all of a sudden and inquire about TMac. There are reports the Wizards have made an offer for Manu. I don't have a link since I'm on my phone but you can Google it. Wash owns the #5 pick, and if they made a play for Manu, that has to be involved. Point is, even with a weak draft class, its gonna take a lot to move into the top 5
Geez have you heard of a guy named dwight howard? What about Pau Gasol? Tim Duncan? Kevin Garnett? Do these names sound familiar? Cleveland has the best player in the world, but until they find a big man they will never be a threat to win the championship.
But neither team in the Finals has even an average PG. And last year's champs had a PG that was pass first, and NOT an outside threat at all. That will make it 2 years in a row w/o a scoring PG wins a championship.....
it will also be two years in a row that the winning team had above average size in their frontcourt... either both mean something or nothing..
Front court play is way more important than backcourt play in the NBA. Not to mention its harder to find quality big men so when you have the chance to get one, you do it. Gasol put the Lakers over the top. Garnett put Boston over the top last year. Its the little things that big men do every possesion that add up over the course of a game. They make it difficult for the other team to get easy baskets, they accumulate fouls on the other team, they are usually efficient scorers because of dunks and put backs, they command alot of attenion, they set great picks. obviosuly every position on the floor is important, but the best teams in the NBA have deep front courts and they can throw alot of quality big men at you and that takes it toll over the course of a game. The rockets have decent front court depth, but now without Deke there is a desperate need for size coming off the bench.
All I saw of him on the Youtube that I could find was him dunking and more dunking. I mean I'm totally impress how athletic he is for his size. I mean if you worry about Yao getting injured. I have no doubt since he's 7'3" and 265. Playing like he's playing is asking for a short career and probably never have a 80 games season. I preferred my big men fundamentally sound. But if I had a choice between him and Rubio, I'm going to pick Rubio. Rubio has all the right tools to be really good. We all know Spain produced pretty good and fundamentally players.
Pau, Duncan and Garnett are fundamentally sound player. If a big and athletic player with low IQ, passing ability and lack of any other moves then just dunking. I mean what's the point?
sure....thats why mcgrady and francis have been able to carry us to so many championships over the past decade. It wasn't until we brought in scola and landry that we could actually win without yao and mcgrady having to score 60 points every night.
No i don't, but i dont see what Dwight's height has to do with it. You asked what the point was of having a center who has no moves, can just dunk, and is just big and athletic. The point is that in this league there's some who just take up space and others who actually do something with their big body and athleticism, like dwight. It's not crazy to think that you can build something great with a player like that.
And yet the Celtics won last year with Perkins at center, and the Spurs have won with Oberto. The only center in your entire list was Dwight Howard........and they aren't winning squat this year.....the BYNUM team is gonna win. I am sorry, what was your point again? DD
if Morey evaluates Rubio and thinks he's a stud... gotta go after that pick.. please stop with the Thabeet talk.. if your case is to look at Pau, KG, and Duncan and the success they've brought to their teams, then you're forgetting we have Yao to be that post presence. Rubio looks like he has the skillset to be that perimeter threat we desperately need We'll see what happens as draft day approaches
DD I think your logic is flawed. Big men do not necessarily have to be Centers. Dwight, Pau Gasol, Duncan all use the post to do a majority of their scoring. Even Garnett uses it, but to a lesser extent. You are making the assumption that the team's "big man" has to be a center. In today's game, it can be either the PF or C. It isn't Bynum's team. Its Pau's
I'd like to end all this..."NBA is a guards league." and "NBA is a Big man league." It's a star driven league. If you have two stars, you have a solid foundation for a championship team. It helps alot if one of those stars play in the post, and the other plays in the perimeter though...who in this draft is a perimeter player? Harden and Rubio. Harden would help out right away if you ask me. But if we resign Artest, keep Tracy, Wafer, and Battier....AND trade Aaron for the pick, that just points to Rubio.
We have Yao, he is our "BIG MAN"...and you do not pass up a unique talent like Rubio to pick up a tall stiff like Thabeet simply because we need a backup center. That is beyond stupid. DD
